clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

White House announces boycott Beijing Winter Olympics

December 7, 2021 at 3:47 pm

A man walks past a statue with the Olympic Rings ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on 7 December 2021 [NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images]

The United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a reaction towards China’s human rights record that stops short of preventing US athletes from competing.

White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, on Monday, confirmed the official boycott against China.

The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China’s human rights record, Psaki said in a written statement.

“Human rights abuses for Uyghurs Muslims are the reason of boycott”, she said.

After the announcement, China warned that the United States would “pay the price” for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns.

On the other hand, China has come under increased criticism in the UK as a result of its treatment of Uyghur Muslims, as well. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister of the UK government, Dominic Raab, also stated that they will consider diplomatic boycott of China at Beijing Olympics.

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking ethnic group, primarily from China’s north-western region of Xinjiang.

According to the United Nations, they have been subject to religious and ethnic persecution by Chinese authorities in recent years.

READ: People power can stop the Uyghur genocide